Towadako is on the border of Akita and Aomori Prefectures. Towadako, which is Japan’s 3rd deepest lake, has beautiful water that depending on the time of year and the weather changes to various shades of blue. Towadako is situated in the crater of an extinct volcano and as a result is surrounded by small mountains. These make for nice overhead shots of the lake, but there are also trails that go around the lake if you feel up to some hiking.

The Oirase Stream is a beautiful stream in the north of Japan. Starting from Towadako, the stream runs for about 10 km and is easy accessible by car. Maybe too easy actually if you are looking for a peaceful get away as the road runs literally right next to it; however, don’t let this stop you from going, especially in the fall. It will get a little crowded, but in the early morning and late in the afternoon things do tend to calm down a lot. Take a look at the photos, they speak for themselves. Oh, one last thing, bring a tripod.

Nikko (日光市), located in Tochigi Prefecture, is a relatively small city population wise, but after recently merging with a few other cities in March of 2006 it covers a vast area. Nikko is very famous for it’s beautiful nature– including waterfalls, lakes and especially fall leaves–and it’s temples and shrines. For the main part, these two famous features of Nikko, nature and temples, are divided into two different areas, so you need at least two days to see Nikko; however I recommend 3 days and 2 nights, staying one night close to Lake Chuzenji and one day in the actually city. The nature area, Nikko National Park, is about an hour drive away from the temple area and the drive is up a curvy mountain road. For more information about Central Nikko please see my other post about Nikko National Park. For more information about Nikko National Park, keep reading here.

If you are going to see the fall leaves know that the two areas of Nikko change colors at different times. The Nikko National park at a much higher elevation and tends to change color about 2 weeks before the central area. I was there just a little late for Nikko National Park area just a little early for Central Nikko

Nikko (日光市), located in Tochigi Prefecture, is a relatively small city population wise, but after recently merging with a few other cities in March of 2006 it covers a vast area. Nikko is very famous for it’s beautiful nature– including waterfalls, lakes and especially fall leaves–and it’s temples and shrines. For the main part, these two famous features of Nikko, nature and temples, are divided into two different areas, so you need at least two days to see Nikko; however I recommend 3 days and 2 nights, staying one night close to Lake Chuzenji and one day in the actually city. The nature area, Nikko National Park, is about an hour drive away from the temple area and the drive is up a curvy mountain road. For more information about Nikko National park, including Lake Chuzenji, please see my post about Nikko National Park. For more information about the city of Nikko (often called Central Nikko), keep reading here.

If you are going to see the fall leaves know that the two areas of Nikko change colors at different times. The Nikko National park at a much higher elevation and tends to change color about 2 weeks before the central area. I was there just a little late for Nikko National Park area just a little early for Central Nikko.

Naruko is most famous for it’s onsens (hot spring baths) but almost as famous for it’s fall leaves or koyo in Japanese. Naruko is one of the most famous places to see the fall leaves in the Tohoku area is the most famous in Miyagi Prefecture. I went there October 21st, 2006 and it was just a little bit too early. If you live in the Tohoku or Miyagi area, by next weekend (28th) it should be really nice! By local train, Naruko is about 2 hours from Sendai and 40 minutes to Naruko from Furukawa (depending on where you are coming from, you should change at Furukawa or Kogata to get to Naruko). The station you want to get off at is called Naruko Onsen.

From the station you can walk to some places of interest but also there are a few buses and taxis if you don’t want to walk the whole time. One of the more popular places to go is Naruko Gorge. It is about a 30 minute walk from Naruko Onsen Station and it takes about 1 hour to walk through the gorge. At the end their is a really famous bridge, that you can see in the photos here, and a really nice view of the gorge. I recommend taking the bus to the end of the gorge where the bridge is and then walking back towards the station through Naruko Gorge. The gorge, while being slightly commercialized, is actually quite a nice and easy walk with a few waterfalls, bridges and interesting rocks and cliffs. As you can imagine, being as it is a gorge, sometime the lighting can be somewhat tricky with places completely in shadow and completely in direct sunlight.

Other places of interest include, Naruko Tropical Botanical Gardens, Katanuma Lake (although it is a lot smaller than I thought it would be), Naruko Damn and a nature trail at Jigokudani (which passes by a famous geyser). See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Okamako, Okama Lake, is a 320m lake in a crater, created from a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. Okamako is on Mt. Zao in Yamagata prefecture and about and hour or two from Sendai. It is also known as the “Five Color Swamp” (五色沼, goshiki numa) because depending on the season and the weather the lake changes color.

To be honest, it should also be known as “usually too cloudy to see but still beautiful lake,” because most of the time it is really cloudy and you can only catch glimpses of the ever changing lake. I was there for about 4 hours and could actually “see” the shy lake for a total of about 3 minutes maybe and these are by “see” I kind of mean catch a glimpse. I am not sure if there is really anyway to find out what the weather is like before going, because I went twice on sunny days but Okamako is so high up on Mount Zao that on a sunny day it was cloudy there (see the very bottom photo). On the other hand, the other photos, taken by Laura Kumataka, were taken on a cloudy and a little rainy day, but again, Okamako is so high up she got above the clouds. Maybe the secret is going on a rainy day and just hope you can get above the clouds. See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Yamadera is one of the more popular tourist spots in the Tohoku Region of Japan. Yamadera is located on the Senzan Line about 15 minutes from Yamagata and is about one hour from Sendai. You only need about 2 or 3 hours to see all of Yamadera so if you have more time and like hiking, I suggest getting off one stop before at Omoshiroyama Kogen and walk from there.

Yamadera is built into the mountains and offers great views. To get to the top takes about 45 minutes from the entrance. A common thing to do in, as seen in the photo on the right, is to put some money into the bark of trees at temples and then make a wish. See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Omoshiroyama is the in Yamagata Prefecture and one stop before Yamadera on the Senzan Line and about 50 minutes from Sendai. Omoshiroyama Kogen has a nice hiking trail that runs next to a river. If you want to go to Yamadera but want to do some hiking as well, Omishiroyama Kogen is a good place to get off.

The hiking trail is about a 45 minute to an hour walk (assuming you are not stopping to take photographs–it took me about an hour and half taking photographs), but then after the trail runs out you have to walk another 45 minutes or an hour to get to Yamadera. Also there is not much as far as signs pointing where to go, so don’t go by yourself or don’t go if you are short on time and want to make it to Yamadera.

The hiking trail is really quite beautiful, especially during fall, as you pass by waterfalls, through a gorge and over bridges; however at some points the route can be a little slippery and very narrow. Once you get to the end of the trail you will go up some steps which will take you to a pathway which leads to a road. Once you get to the road, turn right (downhill) and there shoot be signs coming up soon to verify you are going towards Yamadera. Again I do not recommend going by yourself.

The above photo was taken after the hiking trail and walking along the road towards Yamadera.